Beyond the broad impact the COVID crisis had on society, it feels like it kicked the one-percent’s authoritarian instincts into overdrive. I have a theory that they saw their extreme wealth was not the impenetrable bulwark they thought it was, and it shook them to the core:

  • Before broad adoption of reliable vaccines, they were conceivably vulnerable to the same indiscriminate illness as everyone else.

  • It demonstrated that the government can and will shut down your business with the full regulatory weight of the US government, in the interest of public safety over profit.

  • For the first time it demonstrated that a universal income model is not only possible, it is completely affordable and can be quickly implemented.

  • The luxury services that their money had always effortlessly bought could be quickly ended by decree, scarcity, and the loss of human labor to illness.

What do you think? Did COVID deeply terrify the rich? Or was it just another opportunity for them to make money and maximize hegemony?

  • FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world
    7·
    2 days ago

    They lie and cheat more openly now because of the idea many hold/held that covid was a control psyop by billionaires and the government, testing how much they can push common citizens around et cetera.

    I am neutral on that topic. But the first thing I think with regards to “what changed for the ultra rich, before and after covid?” is that they take less care being evil and manipulative.